Last survivor of enola gay crew

Theodore Jerome "Dutch" Van Kirk (February 27, – July 28, ) was a navigator in the United States Army Air Forces, best known as the navigator of the Enola Gay when it dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Upon the death of fellow crewman Morris Jeppson on March 30, , Van Kirk became the last surviving member of the Enola Gay crew.

[1]. Last Surviving Crew Member Has 'No Regrets' About Bombing Hiroshima Russell Gackenbach was a year-old second lieutenant on Aug. 6, , when he flew in the Necessary Evil, one of three planes. ATLANTA - The last surviving member of the crew that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima has died in Georgia. Theodore VanKirk, also known as "Dutch," died Monday of natural causes at the.

ATLANTA – The last surviving member of the crew that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, hastening the end of World War II and forcing the world into the atomic age, has died in Georgia. The last surviving member of the American crew who dropped the Hiroshima nuclear bomb that killed , people and triggered the end of the Second World War has died.

Many were permanently disabled and later generations were said to have been affected by congenital illnesses or deformities. Spend cost of living payments cash on business instead - IBEC. As the years passed, debate had arisen in this country and around the world as to the wisdom — and morality — of using such a devastating weapon.

By Beth Ashley IJ columnist. Trump is clearly fed up with Putin - but will his shift in tone force Russia to the negotiating table? He spoke about his experiences at the University of West Georgia in Van Kirk, who died last month at age 93, was the navigator on the Enola Gay, the B that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Toggle navigation. The B Superfortress plane carrying 12 crew members dropped the first atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6th in When Tibbets was selected to fly the raid on Hiroshima, he in turn selected his two friends.

As well as killing tens of thousands, the Hiroshima attack left hundreds of thousands injured. First, he said, it was absurd to talk of war and morality in the same breath, and cited instances of wartime brutality everywhere. The blast killed , people and, together with the Nagasaki blast, which killed another 80,, helped bring about a Japanese surrender.

Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, and on Aug. The last surviving crew member of the Enola Gay, the US bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan in , hastening the end of World War II and moving the world into the atomic age, has died at age None knew exactly what their mission was to be, although they trained in a B for seven months at Wendover Field before being consigned to Tinian, launching pad for the flight.

More in Lifestyle. Van Kirk remembered a huge yellow flash, like a photographic flash but immensely more penetrating, and two shock waves that shook the plane even at 31, feet. Three days after Hiroshima, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Why you can trust Sky News.

What happened to the crew of the enola gay

Van Kirk never revised his opinion that using the bomb was the right thing to do. The bombing hastened the end of the second world war. The dropping of the bomb ushered in the Cold War era, a period of heightened tension between the West and the Soviet Union, during which both sides stocked up on huge nuclear arsenals. Fires broke out everywhere; people died for hours afterward from their injuries — people who seemed to have escaped.

Should single people get more help to buy a home? In , Mr Van Kirk, whose nickname was Dutch, was interviewed by the Associated Press and told them atomic bombs do not settle anything and he wanted the weapons banned. Throughout July and August of , Van Kirk said, American bombers were dropping tons of fire bombs on Tokyo every night, killing thousands and thousands of defenseless people.

In , VanKirk said he would like to see the weapons abolished. While he might have disapproved of the after effects of the Hiroshima attack, he later told the Daily Mirror it had been the right thing to do.